A computing system can be generally defined as a computing device, including any peripherals that are desired to have the computing device operate in a given manner. For instance, a computing system may including a computing device, inclusive of its memory, processor(s), storage devices such as hard disk drives, as well as peripherals, such as keyboards, pointing devices like mice, and so on. Computing systems commonly are interconnected with one another in various topologies, including peer-to-peer networks, in which all the computing systems are client computing systems and no one client computing system handles supervisory or management functionality for any other client computing system. Another topology is the client-server network, in which there is typically a lesser number of server computing systems as compared to client computing systems, where the former systems handle supervisory or management functionality for the latter systems.
In order for a computing system to be functional, usually an operating system has to be installed on the computing system. The operating system can be considered the master control computer program via which other computer programs are able to be executed on the computing system. Many operating systems can be installed on computing systems in a substantially unattended manner. For example, in a client-server network, a server computing system may direct that a given operating system be installed on one or more of the client computing systems. Operating systems may generally be installed in such a manner that drivers for devices on the client computing systems are automatically found and installed on the client computing systems. A driver is generally defined as a computer program that allows the operating system, and hence other computer programs executed on a computing system, to communicate with a given device installed on the computing system. Driver installation, as part of operating system installation, on a computing system in which the drivers are automatically found and installed on the computing system can be referred to as “plug and play” driver installation.
“Plug and play” driver installation greatly simplifies the installation of operating systems on computing systems, especially within an enterprise environment in which operating systems may have to be installed on a large number of computing systems. A server computing system, for instance, may direct that a given operating system be installed on all the client computing systems. The client computing systems usually have access to all the drivers that may be needed during operating system installation. When a specific driver is needed for a given device on a client computing system, the operating system installation process can find the specific driver and install it as necessary, without any input, pre-configuration, or other procedures performed by the network administrator, the client computing system, or the server computing system.
However, some operating systems do not provide for automatically finding and installing drivers for certain types of devices when these operating systems are installed on computing systems. For example, certain versions of the Microsoft Windows® operating system, available from Microsoft Corp., of Redmond, Wash., such as the Microsoft Windows® 2000 operating system, the Microsoft Windows® XP operating system, and the Microsoft Windows® 2003 operating system, do not provide for “plug and play” driver installation for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) mass storage device drivers. Such mass storage devices can include different types of hard disk drives, tape storage devices, optical disc storage devices, and other types of mass storage devices. In particular, mass storage devices that have a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), as opposed to an Integrated Device Electronics (IDE) interface, may not be able to have their drivers automatically found and installation without previous configuration or other procedures having been performed. Such mass storage devices also include mass storage controllers, such as SCSI controllers, for such devices.
Typically, mass storage devices that are not able to have their drivers installed in a “plug and play” manner instead have to have their drivers particularly specified and listed in configuration files that vary for each type of mass storage device, and even different versions and brands for the same type of mass storage device. For example, to accomplish unattended installation of drivers for mass storage devices of client computing systems within a client-server network, the devices may have to be particularly specified in an unattended installation file that is specific to each client computing system. Furthermore, the unattended installation file may have to reference a master driver file that lists the actual files needed to install a driver for each mass storage device on each client computing system, and which also has to be manually prepared and configured. Finally, the driver files also have to be particularly copied to the client computing systems for unattended installation of drivers for the mass storage devices to properly occur.
Thus, for unattended operating system installation within a client-server network to occur where the client computing systems include mass storage devices for which drivers cannot be installed in a “plug and play” manner, for each client computing system a network administrator has to perform a significant amount of work. Such an inordinate amount of work to be performed by a network administrator may further be complicated, and difficult to perform correctly. As a result, many network administrators, while desiring unattended operating system installation on their client computing systems, decide instead to manually install operating systems on the client computing systems, which increases costs and places greater burdens on the network administrators. For these and other reasons, therefore, there is a need for the present invention.